Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

We surveyed Americans regarding their beliefs about gender discrimination over the past several decades. Men and women agreed that women faced much more discrimination than men in the past, and they agreed that the discrimination gap between men and women has narrowed in recent years. However, men perceived the gap as narrower than women did at all time periods, and reported that there is little difference today in the amount of gender discrimination women and men face. Political ideology moderated these beliefs such that conservative men were most likely to report that anti-Man bias now equals or exceeds anti-Woman bias. Similar to recent research on beliefs about racism, these findings suggest that groups which differ historically in status and power exhibit perceptual differences regarding the changing nature of discrimination.

Building upon previous research on structural tensions between the male body and certain features of ‘modernity’ as well as more recent inquiries into fat and gender in the West, this cross-disciplinary ‘thought piece’ argues that fatness and certain ‘masculine’ ideals have existed in a state of tension since ancient times, and that recurring references to the therapeutic violence of ‘Spartan’ techniques reflect the extent to which such ideas continue to circulate in the present. The first section shows that this tension is most clearly illuminated when we consider how the qualities of fat - as well as the act of fattening - have related to classical ideals about masculinity. The second offers examples of how references to Spartan ‘hardness’ have been cited since the eighteenth century as methods of restoring otherwise ‘soft’ males to a more appropriately vigorous mental and bodily state. Without arguing for an unbroken or unproblematic continuity between ancient and modern culture, it suggests that classical references represent what Pierre Bourdieu sees as ‘the product of an incessant (and thus historical) work of reproduction’.

This article examines the potential influence of advertising in health magazines through detailed analysis of advertisements contained in 12 issues of the US magazine Men's Health from the year 2000, in the context of the articles which surround the advertisements. Tensions are explored between the role of the magazines in constructing male consumers to deliver to advertisers, and the dispensing of genuine health advice. Tensions are particularly apparent when health advice would go against typical images of hegemonic masculinity, for example advice to drink less alcohol, eat less meat, eat less convenience food, or reduce involvement in risky behaviour. The conclusion considers whether in constructing a male consumer, which in itself threatens traditional masculine images since it involves an interest in fashion, shopping and grooming products, there is potential for magazines to compromise health advice by avoiding further threats to traditional masculinity. 

The current academic performance struggles of college men is gaining increasing research attention (Sax, 2008a, 2008b), but few studies have explored the possible impact of gender-related attributes such as masculinity and femininity on academic help-seeking behaviors and academic performance. In this study of 567 college undergraduates, students who classified themselves as androgynous on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory were more likely to engage in academic help-seeking behaviors than those classified as male sex-typed, female sex-typed, and undifferentiated. No significant differences were found for academic performance. These results highlight the importance of exploring the potential influence of gender-related constructs on academic behavior and performance.